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Kasarana
Kasarana (Kasari: ⴳⴰⵛⵓⵕⴰⵏ''ⴰ'') is a tribal community located in the Ararana Desert (or just Ararana). Etymology The word Kasarana is a transliteration of the Kasari word ⴳⴰⵛⵓⵕⴰⵏⴰ. The word itself is a contraction of Kasara, itself a contraction of ⴳⴰⵛ ('kas', people) and ⵓⵕⴰ ('ara', sun ''or god''), and the word ⵕⴰⵏⴰ ('rana'), meaning country or land. The full translation of the word Kasarana is Land of the People of the Sun or, alternatively, of God, as the Kasari language does not differentiate between the words sun and god. History Very little is known about the early history of the Kasara people. The Kasaran alphabet didn't start to appear before the late 2000's (Afshan Calendar), so there are no written accounts of the history before then. What is known is that the Kasara were (and many still are) a largely pastoralist and nomadic people, until around 2680, which is the time the earliest permanent Kasara settlements have been dated to. This also aligns with the date that Afshanism states as the foundation of Kasarana, adding additional credibilty to the theory. Given its small size and population, relative isolation and homogeneity, Kasarana has barely had a single war or armed conflict, and has generally been very politically stagnant. This is cited as a large part of the reason why the culture of Kasarana has remained essentially the same since the permanent settlements was first established. Recently, however, Kasarana has come into contact with the rest of the world, and many fear that this, despite having lead to a significant increase in quality-of-life through new technologies, will lead to drastic changes and potential instability in the region. Demographics Language and ethnicity The Kasara people themselves do not have a word for their language, but the exonym that is usually used is simply Kasari. The Kasari language consists of two major dialects, one used by the settled people of Kasarana, and one used by the groups that still hold on to the people's nomadic roots. The genetic, linguistic and cultural isolation of the Kasara people has lead scholars to suspect that they migrated from Supon to continent in a different, earlier wave of migration to the other ethnic groups on the continent, and are the last remaining group of that early wave. Religion The chief religion of the Kasara people is Afshanism, or Afshan (Kasari: ⴰⴼⵣⴻⵏ). Afshanism centers on worshipping the sun (hence the lack of differention between the words for sun ''and ''god in Kasari), and fire as a manifestation of the sun on earth. What makes Afshanism stand out from other religion that contain sun-deities, is that Afshanism doesn't anthropomorphize the sun. That is, there is no "sun-god" in Afshanism, the sun itself is seen as a deity. This has resulted in Afshanism being a surprisingly resillient religion in the face of modern secularism, given that there are very few supernatural elements in the religion. Afshan temples are often very simple structures, located away from any settlement. They consist of a single room with a fireplace in the center and a large opening in the ceiling. The fire in the center is prayed to as a symbol of the sun, and the opening in the roof is there as not to block the fire from "reaching" the sun. The Afshan calendar is a lunar calendar, with the equivalent of a month being a full lunar cycle (new moon to new moon). The equivalent to a year in the Afshan calendar is the Safshi (Kasari: ''ⵙⴰⴼⵛⵉ), a period of nine lunar cycles marked with ceremony and celebration at the "new year". Currently, it is year (''Safshi) 5036 in the Afshan calendar. Year 0 is seen as the day that the sun first appeared, and the time pre-dating year 0 is called ''Althihsh (Kasari: ''ⴰⵍⵜⵉⵙ), usually translated as the dark or grey times.